ARRL WEST VIRGINIA SECTION – April 2012 Report

SM: Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY; ASM: K8WV; ACC: N8NH;
PIC:------; SEC: WA8LLM; ASEC Digital: WA8LLM;
STM: Charles Hardy, WV8CH; OOC: K8SOR; SGL: K8BS;
TC: WD8PAD

ALL AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS KEEP UP TO DATE on activities and actions in the amateur community, visit http://www.arrl.org/ .  Lots of drop boxes – enjoy surfing the site.  Support ARRL in WV – join the ARRL

“HELLO”  WEST VIRGINIA AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS: 
April was another really unusual month with much rain and storms passing though the area.  Some of you have experienced loss of antennas and high water.   As I have observed the rise in the Kanawha River on a daily basis, this reflects the result of much rain.   Much caution is needed in repair of those antennas.
There seems to be a influx of new “Hams and Upgrades”, see lists below.  Just a reminder for those new to the “hobby”, be sure to be an  Elmer and support their needs.  Also, this begins the opening of the WV hamfests as listed below.

WV HAMFESTS & CONVENTION: 2012   (More details to come)
MAY 6^th, 2012 – Jackson County Hamfest, Ripley, WV  ( A good hamfest)
JUNE 9, 2012 – Black Diamond ARC Hamfest, Beckley, WV
AUGUST 11, 2012 – TARA Hamfest, Huntington, WV
AUGUST 18, 2012–ARRL WV Convention, Jackson’s Mill, Weston, WV
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WV CLUB PRESIDENTS:
Many thanks to those West Virginia (WV) Amateur Radio Clubs that have updated their Club information on the WVSARC website www.qsl.net/wvsarc/.  As club president or contact, you may want to review and confirm your club information.
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WANTED - WV ARES®/RACES NET MANAGER &  NET CONTROLs:
Positions are still open and looking for volunteers.   The Net Control position would take about ½ hour one evening a month (1st Thursday following the 6:00 PM Fone Net on 3811).   Should you be interested in becoming a Net Control or the Net Manager, just contact ka8zgy@arrl.org  for the Net Script for review.
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Dan Ringer, K8WV, ARRL WV Section ASM:
Should you have a question related to amateur radio and ARRL, just contact Dan at    k8wv@arrl.net.

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Jeffrey Wood, N8NH, ARRL WV Section ACC:    (New Call)
I would like welcome a Central WV Amateur Radio Club is now an ARRL Affiliated Club.
Also, it the time of year to start planning for Field Day 2012.
I encourage all hams to participate with your local club.
The 2012 WV QSO party will be on June 16th and 17th. Please visit www.qsl.net/wvsarc for rules.
Should you need information about a local club in your area,  contact me at n8nh@arrl.net.
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Charles “Skip” Hall, K8SOR, ARRL WV Section OOC:
Activities reported for April 2012: There were six (6) OO’s reporting with a total of 136 hours of monitoring time, and one (1) cards sent.   If you are interested in becoming an OO, contact Skip.  Great job to all the OO’s, with many thanks for on-the-air monitoring, and supporting amateur radio in WV.
73, K8SOR, Skip, k8sor@arrl.net
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ARRL WV Section PIC:   “POSITION OPEN”
WANTED – if interested in the ARRL WV PIC position, please review
the PIC Position Descriptionhttp://www.arrl.org/pic-job-description, and
 send information to me at ka8zgy@arrl.org with PIC on Subject line.
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Kenneth Harris, WA8LLM, ARRL WV Section SEC:
See ARES® Reports below. Interested in public service and emergency communications, join the ARRL and members subscribe to the
ARES® E-Letter at www.arrl.org/ares-letter and for NON-members www.arrl.org/ARES-EL.  wa8llm@arrl.net
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Charles Hardy, WV8CH, ARRL WV STM:
See the ARRL WV Section NTS Net Reports, the Station Activity Reports (SAR) and the Public Service Honor Roll (PSHR) reports below. Charlie will be submitting monthly, send reports to him at wv8ch@frontier.com.
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Bill Hunter, K8BS, ARRL WV Section SGL:
State Government Liaison providing support with the State OES.
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Dirk Burnside, WD8PAD, ARRL WV STM:
Should you have a technical problem, just contact Dirk for assistance at doburnside@hotmail.com
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ARRL ACTIVITIES: The ARRL letter will be posted each Friday.
ARRL Letter http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/  also available on Audio News http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ 
W1AW General, DX, Keplerian, Propagation Bulletins www.arrl.org/w1aw
W1AW   Schedule   www.arrl.org/w1aw     http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html
Visit the www.wvarrl.org  website for ARES® and related information.
FEMA online independent study course that presents the concepts of Emergency
Support Function #2-Communications   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS802.aspThe Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation   http://www.AMSAT.org
FCC Database – Is your MAILING ADDRESS AND NAME current in the FCC database http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=cft&id=amateur&page=cft_change_address

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WV NEW AMATEURS -  April 2012
Robert Patterson, KD8SDN; Cody Himelrick, KD8SDL; Gilbert E. Shipe, KD8SDM; John W. Sweet, KD8SED; Tyler C. Miller, KD8SEB; Alexander C. Miller, KD8SEA; Luke E. Lassiter, AC8LJ; Rebecca A. Mooney, KD8SEC; Lisa A. Nicholson, KD8SDW; John L. Petersen, AC8LH; Stanley C. Wilke, AC8LI; Thomas Stinder, AC8LM; Adalberto M Perez, KD8SDY; Michael S. Metz, KD8SDU; Michael D. Farnsworth, KD8SCG; Jason A. Rohr, KD8SCJ; Krista L. Ellis, KD8SCH; Jason D. Hunt, KD8SCI; Charles R. Lloyd, KD8SFH; Jeffrey M. Whitehead, KD8SFC
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WV AMATEUR UPGRADES – April 2012
Ronald G. Porter, KB8RZO; Gregory R. Sasser, KD8RYQ; Marshall G. Browning, KD8PMB; Harold N. Precht, KB8YGZ; John P. Joran, KD8PDA.  .
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ARRL MEMBERSHIP (New/Renew) – April 1012
Claude Jones, KD8RZK; Robert Patterson, KD8SDN; Paul C. Smith, KD8EDN; Terry P. Sanner, WV8V; Karl S. Thompson, K8KT; Michael S. Metz, KD8SDU; William M. Barr, N8RBG; Sam E. Errett, KD8JUM; Steven G. Milligan, W1IEU; Larry D. Ellis, KC8FTF; Krista Ellis,, KD8SCH; Marshall G. Browning, KD8PMB; Harold N. Precht, KD8YGZ; Barbara W. Bartlett, WB3KCB; David N. Daugherty, KD8PDB; Larry T. Eller, KC8PZR; Louie L. Ransinger, KD8OJH: Steven R. Musgrove, KB8VCV; John S. Prince, N8UER; Edward O. Caplinger, KD8MIB
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WV ARES® ACTIVITIES – April  2012
Compiled and submitted by Ken Harris, WA8LLM, ARRL WV SEC

Total number of ARES members: 143
Change since last month:  changes every month
# of  DECs/ECs reporting this month:  14
# of  ARES nets active: 25    
# with NTS liaison: ?

Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: AB8CR, KD8AMN, N2OCW, KC8CSE, N8IKT, KB8YZT, KC8TUE, K8LES, KA8ZXL, WD8PAD,  WD8AGH, KC8LEG, WV8JS, KC8SIG
Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 2  Person hours  127
Number of public service events this month:      4              Person hours   313
Number of emergency operations this month:    0              Person hours  0
Total number of ARES operations this month:  6    Total Person hours    440

• Terry Mills, KC8TUE, EC Wood County, reported that on April 3rd, WCEC held it's monthly business meeting at Lubeck community center.  After the standard business portion of the meeting, discussions followed on the topics of the building at the airport, and the Challenge at Mountwood Mountain Bike Race.  There were 18 ARES members present.  On April 15th, WCEC and Wood County ARES provided safety and logistics communications for the 17th annual Simonton Windows Challenge at Mountwood, at Mountwood Park.  The event featured a 23-mile mountain bike trail for experts and professional racers, a sports class trail of 16 miles, and a beginners/children's trail lasting seven miles.  The race is seen as the official kickoff of the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association Points Series, and helps increase awareness of the park's 50 miles of trails.  A record-breaking number of 229 riders participated in the event.  Hosted by the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association and the River Valley Mountain Bike Association, the event brought in riders from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Maryland.  Communications were established at key points along the trail by 10:30 am, and the race started at noon.  The four-hour event passed this year with only mechanical problems and some very minor tree rash.  No serious injuries were reported, but a few new cuss words were learned.  There were 20 ARES members present.  On April 21st, WCEC and Wood County ARES were requested too provide safety and logistics communications for the Vienna River Road Run and Walk in Vienna, WV.  Sponsored by Camden Clark Medical Center and hosted by the River City Runners and Walkers Club, the event started at Jackson Elementary School Stadium and wound thru the streets of Vienna for 5 miles and ended back at the stadium.  There was also a 5k Walk held concurrent.  Communicators were placed at key points along the route to operate stop watches and clocks, and keep tabs on the participants for health or safety concerns.  The Race started at 8:00am and took less than three hours to complete.  The event was held without, but everyone got soaked by the rain, which started as the race began, and ended as the last runner/walker crossed the finish line.  There were 18 ARES members present.  On April 28th WCEC and Wood County ARES, in conjunction with Mid Ohio Valley Regional CERT, provided communications for the 2nd Annual Bike For A Cure Race/Ride.  Starting from WVU Parkersburg, and taking the Rails- to-Trails 14 miles to Eaton’s Tunnel, and then back.  Cold and Rainy weather with the threat of severe storms hindered the turn out to only 25 competitors for the day, which was down from over the 60 last year.  Prizes were given to the top 5 racers.  Despite the weather and some challenges in communications, the event was safely brought to an end with pizza and soft drinks for all.  A lot of communications on simplex was learned.  There were 28 ARES members present.
• Jim Stephenson, WV8JS, DEC District 10, reported that on April 25, 2012, he made a Power Point presentation on WV District 10 ARES to the Kanawha ARES group at the Kanawha Metro/911 center.  There were nine persons in attendance.  The presentation lasted about 2 1/2 hours.  He said that more trainings and presentations will be coming to the District 10 counties.  On April 25, 2012, he received an e-mail from Fred Herr, WD8AGH, EC for Cabell County.  Fred advised that the Cabell County ARES group combined up with the Tri-State Amateur Radio Association several years ago due to poor attendance.  Jim advised Fred that he would like to attend one of their meetings and speak to his group about ARES/RACES.  On April 27, 2012, he received a telephone call from Robert Hanson, AF8RH, EC for Putnam County.  Robert informed Jim that the ARES group was combined with West Virginia Amateur Radio, Inc. in which Robert is the President.  Robert stated the combining of the ARES group with WVAR was due to a lack of participation and meeting attendance.  Jim said he will be attending a Bluestone Dam Planning Regional Workshop-Regions 1 & 6 hosted by West Virginia Homeland Security State Administrative Agency, a   Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on May 1, 2012, at South Charleston, WV from 9:30AM - 3:00PM.
• Bruce Minor, KA8ZKL, acting EC Pendleton County, said that nothing much has been happening in his area.
• Dirk Burnside, WD8PAD, EC Upshur County, didn’t have anything to report, but he did want to know who the DEC was for his district, and who the other ECs were.  He was advised the DEC position was vacant, and asked if he was interested in filling it.  He was also sent the latest copy of all the ECs in West Virginia.
• Lester Shields, K8LES, EC Hancock County, said the FEMA drills for the Beaver Valley Power Station began in April and will continue through June.  In April three operators participated for two hours. He said the ARES group began some training for the NBEMS system with 10 operators for one hour.
• Pat Schaffner, KC8CSE, EC Pocahontas County, said his group provided communications for the Great Greenbrier River Race in Marlinton. There were over 500 people involved with the event. The event consisted of running, biking, and canoes & kayaks.  All went well except one bike accident.  Two Meter Simplex was used as well as 53.330 and 145.110 and 224.600 MHz.  Pat said there will a State Wide Search and Rescue exercise being held in Pocahontas County on May 11, 12, and 13.  He was advised that Amateur Radio would be a part of the communications.  Dave Canterbury, Cody Lundin, and their film crew, from the TV series “Dual Survival” will be participating, as the lost people, at the event.
• Jerry Sturm, KC8SIG, the new EC Tucker County, reported the ARES group did some testing of their 2 Meter/440 MHz cross band repeater in Dolly Sods.  The test went very well and they had their first ARES/RACES Net.  There were seven ARES and four non-ARES members check in.  He said they are planning more tests, and having their nets on the 1st Saturday of every mouth.  Jerry sent his report via his Winlink 2000 gateway, KC8SIG-10.

·         Paul Whited, KB8YZT, EC Kanawha County, said that he is working with the National Weather Service in Charleston, WV.  They are starting to set up an alerting system for the Amateurs in, and around Kanawha County.

·         Fred Herr, WD8AGH, EC Cabell County, said Cabell County ARES along with Tri-State Amateur Radio Association, and in association with Cabell County Emergency Management, sponsored a NWS SKYWARN class on April 17, with 15 "hams" in attendance.  Fred is also working with the National Weather Service in Charleston, WV.  He said the Miss Jamie Belinski, of the NWS, would like to get an organized SKYWARN system for the whole state.  Fred feels this could be a golden opportunity for WV ARES.

·         Lemuel Jones, KC8LEG, EC Barbour County, said his group is starting to get ready for the Blue and Gray Reunion, held on the 4th of July, and the Barbour County Fair.  Lemuel reported that three nets were held in April.  He said that he lost his computer before he got it backed up, and lost some of his data.  He said he learned a lesson the hard way.  He advised that you should back up data daily, not weekly, or bi weekly.  He said they have an average of about eight check-ins per net.  They also had trouble on one net with interference from someone, or something, but they worked around it with a little relaying.

·         Keith Johnson, N8IKT, EC Lincoln County, said things are about the same in his county, but hopefully they will have their new repeater on the air soon.

·   This SEC attended the Wood County Emergency Communications/ARES business meeting on April 3rd.  On April 7, I taught a one day Technician Class license class at Spencer, in Roane County.  On April 9th and 10th I attended a Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training class.  On April 17th I attended the Ritchie County LEPC Meeting.  On April 26th I attended the Wood County CERT Meeting.  I also helped with the communications for Challenge at Mountwood Mountain Bike Race, the Vienna River Road Fun Run, and the Bike-For-A-Cure Bike Ride and Race that Terry, KC8TUE, EC Wood County, reported.  On April 29th, I attended the Athens, Ohio Hamfest.  I’m planning to teach another one day Technician Class license class on June 9th, at the Health Department in Parkersburg, Wood County.  Check out the WCEC website: www.wc8ec.com  for ARES Bulletins and the DAREN (Digital Amateur Radio “Emergency” Network) News.  Plans are being made the the 4th Annual Parkersburg/Wood County Hamfest on October 13th.

·         Kenneth Harris, WA8LLM, wa8llm@arrl.net
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WV NTS TRAFFIC REPORTS   - April 2012  
Compiled and submitted by Charles Hardy, WV8CH, ARRL WV STM

HF Nets Reporting:Stations  Traffic   Time Min. Sessions  Net Mgr.
Fone Net                     709       70           709             30          W8YS
WV Midday Net         398       21           345             30        W3GEG
WV CW Net Early       86        36          229             29          KD8G
WV CW Net Late        60         5           152             28          KD8G
WV ARES/RACES    16          0            19               1 (Int)KA8ZGY
         Total               1267      13          1454          118
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ARES®/RACES 2 Mtr Nets Stations  Traffic  Time Min. Sessions
District 6 ARES/RACES          53              3             47           4
District 4 – Pioneer ARC         35               0             64           5
Total                                         88               3           111           9
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2 Meter Nets              Stations    Traffic      Time Min.     Sessions
Plateau ARA 2Mtr         14             0                 15               2
Monongalia Co.             88             1               146               5
Kanawha ARC             115             0               242               5
             Total               217             1               403              12
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STATION ACTIVITY REPORTS (SAR)– March 2012                               
                     Orig        Rec        Sent      Del          Total
W8CPG          3            36          3           0             42  

KA8ZGY      74            7         60          16          157  
  Total  (2)     77           43        63           16          199
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PUBLIC SERVICE HONOR ROLL (PSHR) – March 2012
Station            1            2            3            4          5        6       Total
W8CPG        40          40          20           0          0         0        100

KA8ZGY      18         40          40          15          0       20       133
WB8KPE      40         40            0            0          0         0         80
Stations (3)   98        120         60           15         0        20       313  
================================================

ARRL Affiliated Clubs – Visit the ARRL Club site www.arrl/org
 to update your clubs ANNUAL REPORT.

ARRL Affiliated Clubs – Visit the ARRL Club site to update or
become a SPECIAL SERVICE CLUB.

WV Clubs - Visit the ARRL Club site to become an ARRL Affiliated Club. 
ARRL VE Testing – Visit the ARRL Exams site www.arrl.org for testing
site/locations/dates.
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WEST VIRGINIA AMATEUR CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

***Please visit the West Virginia State Amateur Radio Council (WVSARC)
website at  http://www.qsl.net/wvsarc/wv_clubs.html  and update your
club/organization information and email address.    All WV Amateur Clubs
 are asked to register on the site...
*** Check out the above list of “New”, Upgrade WV Amateurs and ARRL
members for your club to contact as perspective members.
*** WV Club Newsletters – Does your club have a newsletter – please
send hardcopy or by email.

Should you need an update to the listing below, contact ka8zgy@arrl.org
__________________________________________________________

64 Repeater Group     Dwight D. Hensley, N8HZ, Barboursville, WV

Barbour County Area Amateur Radio Club   wv8bc@arrl.net

Black Diamond ARC http://www.bdarc.com

Charleston Hamfest and Computer Show   http://www.w8gk.org/ 
     n8tmw@arrl.net

Doddridge County Amateur Radio Society 
  http://www.dcars.zoomshare.com/

East River Radio Club     http://www.erarc.com
Eastern Panhandle ARC http://k8ep.net

Jackson County ARC   wd8jnu@arrl.net

Jefferson County Amateur Radio Club http://jcwvarc.webs.com
 kd8ckn@yahoo.com

Kanawha Amateur Radio Club http://www.karc.wvhamradio.com
 http://www.w8gk.org/
Logan County ARC   maynardsidney@hotmail.com

Mountain State Transmitters     Jeffrey A. Broschart, KC8OBS
 jbroscha@access.k12.wv.us
Mountaineer ARA (contract Joe Radcliff, WD8EOG)  
 wvham@adelphia.net

Monongalia Wireless Assn.   w8mwa@arrl.net    
http://www.w8wma.org

Opequon Radio Society      http://qsl.net/w8ors

Parkersburg Amateur Radio Klub 
http://www.qsl.net/wvsarc/wv_clubs.html   kc8ruj@yahoo.com

Plateau Amateur Radio Assn      http://qsl.net/kc8lob    
 plateau_wv@yahoo.com

Ritchie Amateur Group     kn8j@arrl.net   
 http://members.ruralnet.org/madhattr/

Southern WV ARA, Inc    http://www.swvarai.org

Stonewall Jackson ARA       http://www.sjara.org

Tri-County Ham Radio Club     ka8mtc@adelphia.net 

Tri-State Amateur Radio Assn.     http://qsl.net/tara

West Virginia Amateur Radio   http://www.wvar.org

West Virginian DX Assn      http://wvdxa.org

West Virginia University ARC   http://www.csee.wvu.edu/~w8cul

WV State Amateur Radio Council       http://qsl.net/wvsarc 
wa8ycd@arrl.net

WV Wesley College ARC   http://www.wvwc.edu/w8ld

WV HF Nets Name                 Day(s)   Time (local)   Freq. (MHz)    Mgr.

West Virginia Early Net              Daily        1900                3.567          KD8G

West Virginia Fone Net               Daily        1700             3.811          W8YS

West Virginia Late Net              Daily         2200             3.567          KD8G

WV ARES/RACES Emg.Net  1stThurs .   1830             3.811           OPEN

West Virginia Mid Day Net      Daily        1145             3.865        W3GEG

Triple States ARES CW Net     Wed.        1846            28.480         KF8RL

TSARC 10 meter Phone Net     Wed.        1930            28.480        N8FQN

TSARC 40 meter Net                Wed.        2000             7.260         K8UGO

WV VHF Nets    Day(s)  Time       Freq. (MHz)        Coverage         Mgr.

8 Rivers ARC      Tu       2100    145.110 T107.2   Pocah. Co. +   KC8CSE

Barbour CoARES  Th       2100    145.140-           Barbour Co.     KC8MLK

Cabell Co ARES    M       2030  146.760-/443.850 Hunt/KY/OH   KB8LSR
Eastern Pan.Trfi M-F     1845     147.255+    Morg/Berk/Jeff.Co. KB8NDS

FayetteCo.ARES  2,4 Th  2030     146.790-            Fayette.Co +     N8BJY

Gilmer Co.A/R     Th       1900     145.290-          Central WV        KA8ZXP

Harrison Co.A/R  Th       1900     146.685-    North Central WV      WJ8G

JeffersonCo ARES  Su    2030     147.255+        Jefferson Co.

KARC 2mtr        Su       2030    145.350-      Kanawha Co. +       N8TMW

MountainStateFM  Sat   2100   145.370        Tucker Co./adj.      KD8HJN

Northern WVA/R  W      2030     145.300-      Northern WV         KB8QIR

Ohio Co ARES   Su      2000     146.760-       Ohio Co.                KC8CR

PendletonCoA/R Th       1900      147.285+     Eastern WV           N8HON

PioneerARA2mtr T      1900      146.835-      Central WV         KB8EUN

PlateauARA2mtr  Th    2000     146.790-       Fayette.Co +       WD8WV

Steuben.Weirton   Su    2000     147.060+    North WV/E OH     W8DYF

SWJARC 2mtr     T      1900      147.210+    North Central WV N8FMD

TSARC News Net F     2000      146.910-     North. Panhdl.          K8AN

TSARC Skywarn  T     1915      146.910-     North. Panhdl     WD8PQG

Tyler Co.AR Org. M    2100      147.360+    Tyler Co. +          KB8TIV

Wayne Co ARES  M    2100      147.390+    Louisa,KY/WV   KC8ICK

WVEastRegARES M   2000       147.255+  Morg/Berk/Jeff.Co. K8WXI

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